British Buddhist monk self-immolates in FranceToulouse, France (AFP) Nov 16, 2012 -
A British monk died in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in France after he poured petrol over his clothes and set himself alight, police said Friday.

The 38-year-old Briton, whom police did not name, had been living at Nalanda monastery near the southwestern village of Labastide-Saint-Georges for the past five years.

He carried out the act on Thursday in the garden of the monastery, which is home to 25 monks and 20 lay people and which on its website describes itself as "a unique monastery for Western monks in the Tibetan Geluk tradition".

Police were seeking to establish whether the victim had been depressive or if he might have committed suicide in an act of solidarity with Tibetans in China.

More than 30 people have set themselves on fire in China's Tibetan-inhabited regions since March 2011 in protest at what they say is religious and cultural repression by the Chinese authorities.

Tibetans have long chafed under China's rule over the vast Tibetan plateau, accusing Beijing of curbing religious freedoms and eroding their culture and language.

The tensions have intensified over the past year, but Beijing insists that Tibetans enjoy religious freedom and have benefited from improved living standards brought on by China's economic expansion.

Two Tibetans were reported to have set themselves on fire in protest against Chinese rule, said a rights group, on the same day the Communist Party unveiled its new generation of leaders.

If confirmed, the incidents would bring the total number of people setting themselves on fire in Tibetan areas to 12 in ten days, since Wednesday last week -- the day before the start of the 18th Communist Party congress in Beijing.

London-based Free Tibet said the man and woman set themselves alight on Thursday in two separate incidents in different areas of the town of Tongren in China's northwest Qinghai province.

The 23-year-old woman, who was named as Tingzin Dolma, died from her injuries, the rights group said late on Thursday.

Details on the 18-year-old man, including whether he survived, were not available due to "severe restrictions" on communications in the area, Free Tibet said.

Chinese state media reported on Thursday that a 14-year-old boy died after self-immolating in Tongren, in what appears to be a separate incident.

The three reported incidents happened on the same day that the Communist Party unveiled its new Politburo Standing Committee -- China's highest decision-making body.

Beijing's new leaders were paraded in front of the media the day after the highly-sensitive congress ended on Wednesday.

The latest reported incidents follow the deaths of two men after they set fire to themselves in Tongren on Monday, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.

Other self-immolations since November 7 have included a man who died after setting himself alight on Saturday afternoon in the northwestern Gansu province, Xinhua also reported.

An 18-year-old man died after he set fire to himself outside a monastery in Qinghai and a 23-year-old woman died after setting herself alight in the same area, the exiled government said.

It also said a trio of young monks set themselves on fire on November 7 in a Tibetan area of Sichuan province, in southwest China, leaving one dead and the others injured, while another burning took place in Tibet itself.

Many Tibetans in China accuse the government of religious repression and eroding their culture, as the country's majority Han ethnic group increasingly moves into historically Tibetan areas.

Tibetan boy, 14, dies in self-immolation: XinhuaBeijing (AFP) Nov 15, 2012
A 14-year-old Tibetan boy died after self-immolating, state media said Thursday, the tenth person to set themselves on fire since the eve of a pivotal meeting of ruling Communists last week.
The boy, identified by the single name Karpongya, died in the town of Tongren in China's northwest Qinghai province, Xinhua said.
The area has seen a wave of self-immolation protests against Chinese ... read more

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